China's New Missile: A Game Changer?

Investor's Business Daily ^ | December 28, 2010 | IBD staff

[raptor22]

China's Challenge: As tensions elevate on the Korean peninsula, Pyongyang's patron deploys a weapon designed to sink the very ships we are sending to protect an ally. This does not bode well.

The prospects that the Korean War, which ended in only an interminable armistice, may resume has become an increasingly real possibility in recent months.

That its patron, China, without which North Korea would collapse of its own rot, now has deployed a missile designed to target and sink U.S. carrier battle groups adds a new and disturbing element to any confrontation in the region.

Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, told the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun last Sunday that China's touted "carrier-killer," an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) designated the Dong Feng-21D, had reached "initial operational capability."

This version of China's land-based mobile medium-range missile is off the drawing boards and in the field.

[redangus]

Not with the Bambster in office he would never allow the collateral damage of taking out the dam. We would just retreat back to Hawaii and send a formal apology for our impertinence.

[traumer]

Curtis LeMay I wonder what would he think....

[cranked]

This particular “new missile” is so old ass frakin’ news it simply amazes the frak out of me that idiots are still writing articles on it. Good frakin’ grief! =.=

[RayChuang88]

My guess right now is that the DF-21 ASBM will use a nuclear warhead in the 50-75 kT range to guarantee a "kill" against a Nimitz-class carrier. Otherwise, with the current Standard missiles launched from US Navy cruisers and destroyers and the surprising maneuverability of modern carriers, such a missile could end up being destroyed in flight or missing the carrier by thousands of feet

[ROTB]

Is the 3 gorges dam more valuable than a supercarrier?

[ROTB]

Actually:

Nimitz Class carrier : 4.5 billion
3 Gorges Dam : 26 billion

via Wikipedia

[familyop]

"The price we’ve paid for handing China our manufacturing technology on a silver platter, just so fat ladies in stretchy pants can buy more chinese made crap at Walmart and Sears."

That's the real topic behind the topic. As for realization of capabilities handed to the PLA by our business, political and academic leaders, that will come. And I'm here on I Told You So Hill to watch the consequences of that vanity and idiocy from afar.

[familyop]

"IMHO conventional weakness may eventually lead to a devastating nuclear war with the Chinese, or else a huge loss of our World position."

That conventional weakness is already manifest. Oil and fuel will continue to go higher, IMO. We need to rebuild here.

[MasterGunner01]

Assuming that the NorKs attack South Korea and the Chinese and U.S. get involved, Obama won't know which of the two — Pyongyang or Beijing — to surrender to.

If such a war were to occur, the Usurper would be very conflicted.

[danielmryan]

...risking a nuclear exchange is not where you want to be.

There's another reason why nuclear missles aren't a panacea. Imagine (if you can hold your stomach) you're the next Hitler. You know about America's nuclear arsenal.

Where are you going to put the concentration camps?

[Repeal The 17th]

“I personally want our enemies to KNOW that we will nuke their ass if required. “
-
That is exactly why I had wished that we had deployed the smallest nuke in our arsenal at Tora Bora - whether it was actually needed or not - just to illustrate the point that we would use them whenever we felt like we wanted to. It was the perfect opportunity.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

The chicom scum have nothing to fear in response to sinking a Supercarrier as long as Emperor bammy the Ever Bowing is in charge of the nuclear football.

He’d start dropping nukes on Israel before he’d ever risk our credit line with the bank of beijing.

[lentulusgracchus]

You'd have to add to the loss costs the Chinese would incur, the value of the big cities downriver of Three Gorges, in the Yangtze estuary and delta. And they're big.

There's nothing to stop that water between Three Gorges and the sea.

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[andyk]

Here's the source of my deja vu, from last year, here on the FR. Just over a year ago:

China to build anti-ship missile

[grey_whiskers]

Three Gorges Dam cannot project power any further than downstream once it is breached.

We are comparing the ancillary damage from the dam to that which a single carrier could inflict before buying it, in a hot war. (cf Tom Clancy's line in Red Storm Rising in which he said "...doctrine dictated a four-carrier group to survive up here")

Cheers@